Notation
Note: The tunes below are recorded in what
is called “abc notation.” They
can easily be converted to standard musical notation via highlighting with
your cursor starting at “X:1” through to the end of the abc’s, then
“cutting-and-pasting” the highlighted notation into one of the many abc
conversion programs available, or at concertina.net’s incredibly handy “ABC
Convert-A-Matic” at

**Please note that the abc’s in the Fiddler’s
Companion work fine in most abc conversion programs. For example, I use
abc2win and abcNavigator 2 with no problems whatsoever with direct cut-and-pasting.
However, due to an anomaly of the html, pasting the abc’s into the
concertina.net converter results in double-spacing. For concertina.net’s
conversion program to work you must remove the spaces between all the lines
of abc notation after pasting, so that they are single-spaced, with no
intervening blank lines. This being done, the F/C abc’s will convert to
standard notation nicely. Or, get a copy of abcNavigator 2 – its well worth
it.[AK]

MISS SACKVILLE’S FANCY.
English, Country Dance Tune (2/4 time). D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. In
addition to Aird’s 1782 printing the melody under the “Miss Sackville” title
can be found in several 19th century musicians manuscripts,
including those of: William Mittell (1799, New Romney, Kent), H.S.J. Jackson
(1823, Wyresdale, Lancashire), John Fife (c. 1780, Perth, Scotland), and John
Winder (1789, Wyresdale, Lancashire). Miss Sackville may have been from the
household of George Sackville Germain (1716-1785), First Viscount Sackville.
Germain was known as Lord Sackville until 1770, when he took the name Germain
when he inherited estates from Lady Elizabeth Germain. Sackville was a military
man who rose to the rank of major-general in the Seven Years War. He was court
marshaled after the Battle of Minden (1759) when he failed to pursue the
retreating French, thus allowing them to escape. He was restored to power by
King George III, who appointed him secretary of state for America from
1775-1782, during the years of the American War of Independence, a post that he
discharged in a lackluster fashion. Germain had three daughters, Caroline,
Diana and Elizabeth, one of whom might be honored by the title. See also “Watson’s Hornpipe” which shares the
‘A’ part music. Aird (Selection
of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs), vol. II, 1782; No. 191, pg.
71. Rhianon Records, Barry Dransfield – “Be Your Own
Man.”

MISS SALLY AT THE
PARTY. AKA and see "I Asked That Pretty Girl to
be My Wife." Old‑Timey, Breakdown. USA, Mississippi. G Major.
Standard tuning. AB. The source for the tune, W.E. Claunch, recorded in 1939
for the Library of Congress, learned the tune from his father, James Claunch.
Tom Rankin (1985) believes the tune to be a regional north-eastern Mississippi
tune played by several fiddlers there, but only found in one other source ‑‑
an Oklahoma fiddler in Marion Thede's fiddle book (under the title "I
Asked That Pretty Girl to Be My Wife").

MISS SALLY EGLISON. Scottish, Reel. John Glen (1891) finds the earliest appearance of the
tune in print in William Marshall's 1781 collection
(pg. 2). In fact it was included in a c. 1788 appendage of a dozen tunes to his
1781 collection. Moyra Cowie (The Life
and Times of William Marshall, 1999) suggests the title is a misprint of
Miss Eglingtoune, a childhood playmate of the Duchess of Gordon, Jane
Alexander, wife of Marshall’s employer, Alexander, the 4th Duke of
Gordon. It was said that when young girls they rode on the backs of swine down
the street in Hynford Close, Edinburgh, and were always up to mischief. Miss
Eglintoune became Lady Wallace. The late Bruce Olson confirmed the title as
“Miss SallyEglinton’s” by which title
it appears in the four page addendum issue of Marshall’s music housed at the
U.S. Library of Congress.

MISS SARAH DRUMMOND OF PERTH [1]. AKA and see “Calum Crubach,” “Danse Écossaise,” “Devil Shake the Half-Breed
[2],” “Gurren’s Castle,” "Miss Drummond of Perth [1],”
“Mountain Reel [4]," “Our Highland Cousins,” “Paddy Joe’s
Highland Fling,” “The Perth Highland Fling,” "The Prince of Wales Jig,” “The Titanic Highland,” “Yorkshire Bite [1]." Scottish,
Strathspey. A Minor. Standard tuning. AAB. Composer credit for the tune was
claimed by Niel Gow {1727-1807} (in his 1807 Third Collection, second edition), however the tune appears under
the full title (i.e. referencing Sarah Drummond) in Malcolm MacDonald's 2nd collection
(1789, the volume dedicated to the Earl of Breadalbane). No composer was given
credit to MacDonald by Gow. It also appears in John and Andrew Gow’s A Collection of Slow Airs, Strathspeys and
Reels (London, c. 1795). Andrew (1760-1803) and younger brother John
(1764-1826), sons of Niel, established a publishing business in London in 1788
and were the English distributors for the Gow family musical publications. The
melody has currency among Cape Breton fiddlers. In Donegal it is set as a
Highland (see, for example, Hugh Gillespie’s “Gurren’s Castle”) or as a fling.
Quebec fiddler Joseph Allard recorded the tune as “Danse Écossaise.”

***

The Drummonds were a noble family of
Gow’s home county of Perthshire, loyal to the Jacobite cause for which several
of the family died for or were exiled. Clementina Sarah Drummond (1786-1865)
was the only surviving child and heir of James Drummond (d. 1800), the first
Lord Perth, and Clementina Elphinstone (d. 1822, see “Honorable Miss Drummond
of Perth”), Lady Drummond, from whom she inherited an extensive fortune and
vast Perthshire estates. In 1807 she married Peter Robert Burrell, Lord Gwydyr,
Lord Willoughby of Eresby, a great dandy of the day. Upon their marriage he
joined his wife’s family name to his, upon the insistence of his father-in-law.
Burrell’s parents were also gentry; he inherited the title Lord Gwydyr in 1820
on the death of his father, and Lord Willoughby de Eresby in 1828 (21st
of the line), when his mother died. Thus Clementina became Lady Willoughby de
Eresby. The couple resided at Drummond Castle, where the gardens (now one of
the finest in Scotland) were reshaped into a vast formal parterrein in the
1840’s for Sarah. Queen Victoria planted copper beech trees when she visited
the castle in 1842.

***

Clementina was a patroness of
Almack’s assembly rooms, but was considered “to be the highest stickler and
overly grand,” along with Lady Castlereagh. In fact, she is often featured as a
prime villainess in modern Regency-setting romance novels. Balls were held at
Almack’s every Wednesday night during the Season. Admittance was tightly
controlled by a social elite of women, patronesses, that, in 1814 (according to
a report by Captain Gronow), included Lady Castlereagh, Lady Jersey, Lady
Cowper, Lady Sefton, Mrs. Drummond-Burrell, Princess Esterhazy and Countess
Lieven. A rejected application for a season pass to Almacks was cause for social
ruin, and the cabal of patronesses made sure that the merchant and pretending
classes were kept well away. Curiously, money was not a prime dictator of
acceptance, but rather manners, breeding and rank were the desired elements in
an applicant.

MISS SAYER'S ALLEMANDE. England, Country Dance Tune (4/4 time). D Major (Johnson): F Major
(Barnes). Standard tuning. AABB. The melody dates to 1781 when it was published
in Six Favourite Minuets. The allemande was a couple dance, originally
an import to England from Germany in the 1760’s. Figures from the allemande
were subsequently imported into country dances.

MISS SHARPE'S FANCY. AKA ‑ "Miss Sharpe's Favourite." Scottish (originally),
Irish; Jig. D Major. Standard tuning. AAB (Carlin, Gatherer): AABC (O'Neill).
Composed by Charles Sharpe (1750-1813) of Haddam, in honor of his daughter.
Sharpe was the son of William Kirkpatrick of Ailsland, a younger brother of Sir
Thomas Kirkpatrick, 3rd Baronet of Closeburn. On inheriting Hoddom
Castle, Dumfriesshire, in the Borders, Charles changed his name to Sharpe, the
name of his uncle’s line, from whom he inherited the estate. He set to work on
the castle, repairing and improving it, and adding several rooms. Sharpe had a
reputation as an excellent violinist, and also composed music and verse. He was
a friend and correspondent of Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. Miss Sharpe’s
mother was Eleonora, daughter of John Renton of Lamberton, and a lady whose
beauty is celebrated in Smollet’s Humphrey
Clinker. See “Mr. Sharpe’s Delight”
for more. Carlin (The Gow Collection),
1986; No. 353. Gatherer (Gatherer’s
Musicial Museum), 1987; pg. 18. Gow (Third
Collection of Neil Gow’s Reels), 1792; pg. 4 (3rd ed.). O'Neill
(O’Neill’s Irish Music), 1915/1987;
No. 194, pg. 105.

MISS
SINGLETON’S REEL. Irish, Reel. G Major. Standard
tuning. AB. Source for notated version: manuscripts in the possession of
Chicago Police Sergeant James O’Neill, originally from County Down, many from
the playing of his father [O’Neill]. O’Neill (Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody), 1922; No. 257.

MISS SMYTH OF METHVEN. Scottish, Reel. A Major. Standard tuning. AABCD. The title refers
perhaps to a daughter of David Smyth(e) (1746-1806) of Methven Castle,
Perthshire, a Lord of the Session, who married first Elizabeth Murray of
Hillhead (d. 1795), and afterwards (Amelia) Euphemia A. Murry (b. 1769) of
Lintrose. The latter was known as “The Flower of Strathmore,” celebrated by
poet Robert Burns in his poem “Blythe was she” after he met her on a visit to
cousin, Sir William Murray of Ochtertyre. This was in 1787 when she was aged
eighteen, already a celebrated “toast” (as Burns put it), and tradition gives
that she did not appreciate Burns’ effort. An oil portrait of Euphemia seated
with her young daughter was painted by William Dyce (1806-1864). There were a
number of children from both marriages, although only three sons and two
daughters survived. The eldest daughter (who was from the first marriage), Camilla
Catherine Campbell Smythe, married the Right Honorable David Boyle, Lord
Justice-Clerk in 1827. She was born around 1776 in Irvine, Ayrshire. The
marriage was the second one for each and they had children together, although
she died only a few years later, in 1830. The title of the melody may refer to
Camilla or to another daughter. Carlin (The
Gow Collection), 1986; No. 290. Gow (Fourth Collection of Niel Gow’s
Reels), 2nd ed., originally 1800; pgs. 28-29. Rounder Records, Buddy MacMaster – “Cape Breton Tradition”
(2003).

MISS SPARK'S MAGGOT. English, Country Dance Tune (6/8 time). G Major. Standard tuning. AABB.
A ‘maggot’ is a unit of liquid measure, equal to a dram, but also meant
something slight or of small consequence. Barnes (English Country Dance Music), 1986.

MISS SPENCE’S REEL. Shetland, Reel. D Major/Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AB. Original from
the Hoseason Manuscript (1862), with
the note "Composed by John Anderson, Voe, (in 1759) and played by him in
the late Mr. Neven of Windhouse's family at Reafirth at a Christmas party, the
majority of Ladies, Miss Spences, and the Reel got their name" (Cooke,
1986). With so many Miss Spence's, how could he miss?Anderson & Georgeson (Da
Mirrie Dancers), 1970; pg. 25. Bain (50
Fiddle Solos), 1989; pg. 41. County CO-CD-2729,
Art Stamper – “Goodbye Girls, I’m Going to Boston” (2000).

MISS STEWART [3]. Scottish, Strathspey. B Flat Major. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by Abraham Macintosh (b. Edinburgh,
1769), a son of Robert Macintosh,
who later in life removed to Newcastle where he was employed as a dancing
master and musician. Glen (The Glen
Collection of Scottish Music), vol. 1, 1891; pg. 41.

MISS STEWART OF PHYSGILL’S
FAVORITE. Scottish, Jig. D Major. Standard tuning. AB. Composed by Nathaniel Gow
(1763-1831). The melody probably honors one of two daughters of Robert Hathorn
Stewart (d. 1818), who, in 1789, married Isabella, the only daughter of Sir
Stair Agnew of Lochnaw, bart. The family seat was Physgil House.Robert and
Isabella had two sons and two daughters: the eldest daughter, Agnes, married in
1816 to John MacCulloch, esq., of Kirkcudbrightshire; Mary (1801-1880) married
in 1824 a naval officer, Rear-Adm. James Hay (1786-1857), R.N.,
of Belton, E. Lothian, 3rd son of Major James Hay of Belton. Given the dates of
the marriages, the ‘Miss Stewart’ of the title was Mary Stewart. Two of their
children were early Victorian-era military officers who died young: Lieutenant
David Hay, of the 22nd Oude Regular Cavalry, one of the defenders of
Lucknow, died in 1868 at age 25; his brother, Commander Hay, R.N., was killed
in New Zealand in 1864 at age 29. Both were brought home to rest in the family
crypt. Gow (Sixth
Collection of Strathspey Reels), 1822; pg. 7.

MISS STEWART'S MINUET. Scottish, Minuet. Composed by Filtz, it appears in the Brown Manuscript, 1714. Filtz was not a
Scottish composer but instead was from Mannheim, Germany; his Scottish
publishers gave his tunes Scottish names. A tune by this title also appears in
the Gillespie Manuscript of Perth,
1768.

MISS
STRONACH OF MARNOCH'S STRATHSPEY. Scottish, Strathspey. D Major.
Standard tuning. AB. Composed by William Marshall
(1748-1833), and thought by Collinson (1966) to be one of his best tunes. Miss
Stronach was the daughter of the Reverend Willaim Stronach of Marnoch, a friend
of Marshall’s (Moyra Cowie (The Life and
Times of William Marshall, 1999). Marshall, Fiddlecase Edition, 1978; 1822 Collection, pg. 35.

MISS SUPERTEST'S
VICTORY REEL. AKA and see “Hiram’s Hornpipe,” “Uncle Herman’s Hornpipe.” Canadian?,
Reel. D Major ('A' part) & A Major ('B' part). Standard tuning. AABB.
Composed by Sarnia, southwestern Ontario, fiddler John(ny) Durocher
(1934-1989), in honor of the first Canadian-owned boat to win the Harmsworth
International Trophy for speed racing, in 1959. Miss Supertest was in a class
of huge powerboats and was built in Sarnia. John was born the youngest of
sixteen children, to a modest family of few resources. He quit school in his
young teens to help make family ends meet and remained a factory worker for
most of his life, not even possessing a drivers license. John came to fiddling
when he found a broken fiddle in the trash one day and asked the owner for
permission to retrieve it; with some repair work he had his first instrument. A
few lessons from a local teacher (which served to teach him how to read and
write music), were all the formal music education John received. He was a
prolific composer of fiddle tunes, however, and named them for sports and
current events, family and friends and topics of his day, explains Ritchie.
Durocher’s music was picked up by radio fiddler Don Messer, who included many
of his tunes in his broadcasts and printed collections, helping Durocher to
become quite influential in the Ontario scene for his over 400 compositions. [For
more see Ron Ritchie, “John Durocher: A Gifted Composer,” Fiddler Magazine, vol. 12, No. 2, Summer 2005, pgs. 25-27]. Source
for notated version: New England dance caller Ted Sannella [Hebert].
Hinds/Hebert (Grumbling Old Woman),
1981; pg. 16. Ted Sanella, 1981 ‑ Balance
and Swing (CDSSA). Apex Records AL1616, "Don
Messer's Jubilee."

MISS SUSANNA RENTON’S
REEL. Scottish, Reel. G Major. Standard
tuning. AB. The tune was published in 1799 by Thomas Calvert, a musician from
Kelso, Scotland. A note with the collection states that Calvert supplied
“a variety of music and instruments, instruments lent out, tun’d and repaired.”

MISS TAYLOR('S
REEL--KEITH). Scottish, Reel. C Major. Standard
tuning. AB (Marshall): AA'B (Athole): AA'BB' (Kerr). Composed by William Marshall (1748-1833). A Scottish fiddler
and composer, Marshall is most famous for his many fine strathspeys. Marshall worked
for much of his life for the Duke of Gordon as the Steward of his Household,
and it is fortunate that the Duke was an enthusiastic supporter and patron of
Marshall’s music. Moyra Cowie (The Life and Times of William Marshall, 1999),
thinks Miss Taylor may have either been the daughter of George Keith who
founded the Milton Distillery of Keith (now owned by Chivas), or the daughter
of a schoolmaster in Keith, Mr. Taylor. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 3;
No. 128, pg. 15. Marshall, Fiddlecase
Edition, 1978; 1822 Collection, pg. 48. Stewart-Robertson
(The Athole Collection), 1884; pg.
81.

X:1

T:Miss Taylor

M:C|

L:1/8

R:Reel

B:Stewart-Robertson - The
Athole Collection (1884)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:C

cBcd cdef|gfed cBAG|1 cEGc EcGc|dDdc cBAG:|2 cEGc dDdB
c2c2||

CEGc ecGE|FAde fdBG|cege agfe|gAdc cBAG|EFGc ecGE|FAde fdBG|

geag
fedc|BGdB c2c2||

MISS TAYLOR’S [2].English, Reel. G Major.
Standard tuning. AABB. Unrelated to “Miss Taylor’s Reel—Keith.” The melody
appears in the music manuscript copybook of fiddler John Burks, dated 1821.
Unfortunately nothing is known of Burks, although he may have been from the
north of England.

MISS TROTTER. Scottish, Strathspey. A Major. Standard tuning. AB. Composition
credited to James MacIntosh by Kerr, who prints the tune above MacIntosh’s reel
“Mr. James Trotter,” evidently to be
played as a set. James Macintosh (1791-1879) was, according to J. Murray Neil (The Scots Fiddle, 1991), a member of a
musical family that produced six skilled fiddlers in three generations. James’
father was a contemporary, friend and neighbour of the famous Scots fiddler
Niel Gow’s in Dunkeld, Perthshire, and played in the latter’s band. James and
his brother Charles took lessons from Niel and remained close to the family.
James attempted a career as a joiner, explains J. Murray Neil, but, when
invited to Edinburgh by the Gow sons to play in their band (the ‘Reel players
of Scotland’, a celebrated string band of up to 20 skilled musicians), he at
once departed for the city. In addition to his professional playing, Macintosh
established a reputation as a music teacher in Edinburgh and had several
compositions printed by Lowe (1840) and later Kerr. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 2; No. 39, pg. 7.

MISS
VEARIE HAY. AKA - "Miss Vere Hay."
Scottish, Reel. B Flat Major. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by Daniel Dow and first appearing in print in
his c. 1775 collection (pg. 8). Dow was an Edinburgh composer and music teacher
who lived from 1732 to 1783, perhaps most famous for his tune “Money Musk.” Dow’s collection of Scots
tunes was called Thirty-seven new
reels and strathspeys (1775) and appears to be the first collection to
include the word "strathspey" in its title. His family is known to
have stayed in Strathardle and his son (John Dow) was born at Kirkmichael. Dow,
whose first name has been given as Daniel or Donald (both acceptable
translations for the Gaelic ‘Domhnull’) was buried in the Canongate Kirk,
Edinburgh on January 20th, 1783. Gow (Complete Repository),
Part 1, 1799; pg. 32. MacDonald (The Skye
Collection), 1887; pg. 192. McGlashan (A Collection of Reels), c. 1786; pg. 27. Stewart-Robertson
(The Athole Collection), 1884; pg.
281.

MISS WALKER'S FAVORITE. Irish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AAB. The tune is one of the few
that uilleann piper O’Farrell put his name to (as ‘Farrell’), and presumably it
is his composition. The title may refer to a dancer, or perhaps to the daughter
of a ‘Mr. Walker’, named in another
melody included in Kennedy (Traditional
Dance Music of Britain and Ireland: Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 139, pg.
33. O’Farrell’s Pocket Companion
(vol. 4, pg. 111). O’Farrell (Pocket
Companion, vol. IV), c. 1810; pg. 103. O'Neill (O’Neill’s Irish Music), 1915/1987; No. 290, pg. 146. Jerry O’Sullivan – “O’Sullivan meets O’Farrell” (2005).

MISS WALLACE [1] (Ingean Uí/Ni Uallais/Bailis). AKA and see "The Flowers of Limerick [3],”
"The Moving Bog(s) [5],"
"An Seomra in Uachtar,"
"The Wallace Twins." Irish, Reel.
G Major. Standard tuning. AB. Source for notated version: Francis O'Neill
learned the tune from an accomplished West Clare flute player (and Chicago
police patrolman) named Patrick "Big Pat" O'Mahony, a man of
prodigious physique of whom he said: "the 'swing' of his execution was
perfect, but instead of 'beating time' with his foot on the floor like most
musicians he was never so much at ease as when seated in a chair tilted back
against a wall, while both feet swung rhythmically like a double pendulum"
[O'Neill, Irish Folk Music]. O'Neill
(Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 1452, pg. 269. O'Neill
(Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems),
1907/1986; No. 685, pg. 121.

MISS WATSON('S REEL). AKA and see "Belhelvie House,"
"The North Bridge of Edinburgh."
Scottish, Strathspey. B Minor. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by William Marshall. The melody first appears in his 1781 collection,
and again in the 1822 collection though under the title "Belhelvie House,
A Strathspey" in C Minor in the latter publication. Glen (The Glen Collection of Scottish Music),
vol. 2, 1895; pg. 49.

MISS WHARTON DUFF. Scottish, Reel or Hornpipe. B Flat Major. Standard tuning. AAB.
Composed by William Marshall (1748-1833). According
to Moyra Cowie (The Life and Times of
William Marshall, 1999), the tune may refer to Lady Ann Wharton Duff, who
married her cousin Richard Wharton of Orton House near Inchberry in lower Spey
side. Ann was a daughter of Lord Duff of Banff. The tune is sometimes heard
transposed to the key of G major at Scottish sessions, and has been played as a
wedding march. Alburger (Scottish
Fiddlers and Their Music), 1983; Ex. 57, pg. 86. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 56
(arranged by James Hunter). Marshall, Fiddlecase
Edition, 1978; 1822 Collection, pg. 6. Rounder CD
11661-7033-2, Natalie MacMaster – “My Roots are Showing” (2000). Topic 12TS424,
Jock Tamson’s Bairns (1982).

MISS
WILHELMINA MACDOWAL'S REEL--OF ARNDILLY. Scottish, Reel. C Major. Standard
tuning. AAB. Composed by William Marshall
(1748-1833). Miss Wilehlmina was the daughter of David McDowell Grant of
Arndilly House, a chateau situated at the foot of Ben Aigan in a wooded area.
The father was a land improver whose daughter was baptised in 1804 (Moyra
Cowie, The Life and Times of William
Marshall, 1999). Marshall, Fiddlecase
Edition, 1978; 1822 Collecion, pg. 44.

MISS WILLIAMSON. Scottish, Strathspey. D Major. Standard tuning. AB. Composed by Malcolm McDonald, a fiddler who lived
in Inver, in the parish of Dunkeld. Although little is known about him, he was
a contemporary of Neil Gow's and supposedly played the violincello for him
after the death of Donald Gow. The tune appears in his Collection of Strathspey Reels, vol. 1, dedicated to Mrs. Baird of
Newbyth. Glen (The Glen Collection of
Scottish Music), vol. 1, 1891; pg. 29. MacDonald(Collection of Strathspey Reels,
vol. 1); pg. 12.

MISS YOUNG('S STRATHSPEY--BANFF). Scottish, Strathspey. C Major. Standard tuning
(fiddle). AB (Kerr): AAB (Athole, Marshall). Composed by William
Marshall(1748-1833). According to Moyra Cowie (The Life and Times of William Marshall, 1999), Miss Young was the
daughter of Archibald Young, the 4th Duke of Gordon’s solicitor in
Banff. Marshall would have known them through his position as Steward of the
Household for the Duke. Kerr (Merry
Melodies), vol. 3; No. 125, p. 15. Marshall, Fiddlecase Edition, 1978; 1822 Collection, p. 47. Stewart-Robertson
(The Athole Collection), 1884; pg.
80.

MISSISSIPPI JUBILEE. AKA and see "Mississippi Sawyer
[1]." Old‑Time, Breakdown. A version of the well‑known
"Mississippi Sawyer" by Georgia fiddler Earl Johnson and his group,
with the title probably piggy‑backing on the success of "Alabama
Jubilee." County 531, Earl Johnson & his
Clodhoppers ‑ "Old Time String Band Classics, 1927‑1933"
(1975).

MISSISSIPPI SAWYER
[1]. AKA
and see “Downfall of Adam,” "Downfall
of Paris," "Mississippi Jubilee,"
"Love from the Heart."
Old‑Time, Breakdown. Widely known. USA; Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia,
Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Pa. D Major (most versions):
D Mixolydian (S. Johnson). Standard tuning. AABB. An extremely well-known
old-time fiddle tune. One of the earliest printings of a tune by this title is
in George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels,
volume IV (Baltimore, 1839), where it appears under the title "Love from
the Heart" (Knauff also printed a "Mississippi Sawyer" in volume
I of his Reels, but this tune is no
relation to "Mississippi Sawyer [1]"). Alan Jabbour believes that
versions printed in older tune collections suggest the coarse part of the tune
was played first, though the fine part is almost universally heard played first
among Southern fiddlers in the 20th century. The tune has been known to
American fiddlers since the early 19th century, and older fiddlers frequently
give the tune's title as "The Downfall of Paris."The melody was known particularly in Texas
around 1935 as "Downfall of Paris" and was recorded in 1939 (for the
Library of Congress) in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, under that title from
the playing of John Hatcher.W.H.A.
Williams suggests the 'A' section of the Irish tune "Rakes of Mallow" was
"appropriated" as the 'A' part of "Mississippi Sawyer."

***

Charles Wolfe elucidates the the
title and states that a 'sawyer' was a boatsman's term for an uprooted tree
whose roots had become partially anchored to the bottom of the stream bed.
Though anchored, the river's currents would cause the trunk to bob up and down,
often causing the tree to break surface rather suddenly in front of an
unsuspecting river craft. On the Mississippi the problem was of such
proportions that special government 'snag boats' patrolled the river in order
to protect against such menaces. He opines: "Since the Mississippi River
trade played a large role in the economic life of most Americans of the 19th
century, it could be expected that most fiddlers of the period would have known
what a 'Mississippi Sawyer' was, whereas the term's significance has been lost
to the majority of contemporary fiddlers" (notes to Rounder Records
"Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers ‑ The Kickapoo Medecine
Show"). Mark Twain, a licensed riverboat pilot in addition to being a renowned
writer, knew well the potential menace of sawyers in the river and used the
term in fashioning the name of his literary hero, Tom Sawyer.

***

Ford (1940) relates: "This tune
seems to have a strong appeal among old‑time fiddlers. The writer has
heard it at old fiddlers' concerts from coast to coast. When played by a
fiddler who loses himself in the swing of its rhythm, his listeners may hear
the faint tinkle of anvils, the clinking of horseshoes,and the wetting of sickles and scythes and
cradles. It is lively and exciting, yet soothing. The authorship is credited to
an early sawmill owner, who set up his mill somewhere near the junction of the
Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The first enterprise of its kind so far West, it
created widespread interest among a people whose only means of producing
building materials had been the ax, maul, wedge and rive, and the broadax and
adz. Always referred to as 'The Mississippi Sawyer,' the millwright became a
noted character and people congregated daily at his mill from miles around. It
was a tradition among a later generation that the celebration following the
test run of the mill was the occasion for a picnic that lasted for days. The
picnickers came in covered wagons, well supplied with good things to eat, and
pitched camp in the woods near the mill. All hands took part in handling the
logs and lumber as the work got under way, and tables and a dance platform were
speedily built of the first boards from the saw. After the day's work an open‑air
banquet was served by the woman, and when it was learned that the sawyer was
also a fiddler he was immediately chosen by acclimation to play the opening
tune of the dance. Thus came into being 'The Mississippi Sawyer', one of the
rare old tunes of American fiddle lore."

***

It was a 'catagory tune' for an 1899
fiddle contest in Gallatin, Tenn.Each
fiddler would play his version of the tune; the rendition judged the best would
win the fiddler a prize (C. Wolfe, The
Devil's Box, vol. 14, No. 4, 12/1/80).

***

Emmett Lundy of Galax,
Virginia, said: "This tune is a little difficult to play; they ain't many
fiddlers that can lay it. They play at it, but they don't get all of it"
(Reiner & Anick, 1989). He reportedly felt that fiddlers who did not note
with the fourth finger but instead slid up with the third finger did not play
the tune correctly. It was in the repertory of early 20th century Arizona
fiddler Kenner C. Kartchner (Shumway) and also in repertoires of Uncle Jimmy Thompson
(Texas, Tennessee), and Uncle Bunt Stevens (Tennessee), and Buffalo Valley,
Pa., region Harry Daddario. The tune was recorded for the Library of Congress
by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph from Ozark Mountain fiddlers in the
early 1940's, and by Herbert Halpert in 1939 from the playing of Mississippi
fiddlers W.E. Claunch, Stephen B. Tucker and Hardy Sharpe. “Mississippi Sawyer”
is one of ‘100 essential Missouri tunes’ listed by Missouri fiddler Charlie
Walden. Virginia old-time musician Wade Ward played a wonderful, crooked,
version of the melody. Interestingly, the Kessinger Brother’s recording of
“Mississippi Sawyer” was re-released in Québec, with a French title, “Le Reel
Gaspesien.” 78 RPM recordings were numerous (Gus Meade lists 23 early
commercial sides), the earliest being Don Richardson (1916). This was followed
by releases by Al Hopkins (1926), Uncle Jimmy Thompson (1926, as “Karo”),
Ernest Stoneman (1927), Gid Tanner (1928), and the Kessinger Brothers (1929).
Arkie the Arkansas Woodchopper recorded it in 1941.

MISSISSIPPI SNAG. Old-Time. USA, north-central Missouri. A ‘Tie-Hacker’ tune i.e. a tune
named for workers who cut ties from the forest for the railroads in the late
1800's. MSOTFA 202-CD, Nile Wilson (Linn County, Mo.).

MISSOURI MUD, THE. AKA and see “Hell in the Mud,” "Stuck in the Mud." Old‑Time,
Breakdown. USA; Missouri, Nebraska. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. “Missouri
Mud” is one of ‘100 essential Missouri tunes’ listed by Missouri fiddler
Charlie Walden. It was one of the first tunes that collector R.P. Christeson
recorded from Nebraska fiddler Uncle Bob Walters (d. 1960), in November, 1949.
According to Mark Wilson (in the liner notes to Dwight Lamb’s 2005 release) the
original name for the tune was “Hell in the Mud,” and that Dwight Lamb though
the name might have been altered for radio broadcast purposes. Wilson thinks
Walters learned the tune from Missouri fiddler Casey Jones, who moved to Iowa
later in life and came into contact with Walters. Sources for notated versions:
Bob Walters (Burt County, Nebraska) [Christeson, Phillips]; Bob Holt
(1930-2004, Ava, Missouri) [Beisswenger & McCann]. Beisswenger & McCann
(Ozarks Fiddle Music), 2008; pg. 64. R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, vol. 1),
1973; No. 76, pg. 57. Phillips (Traditional
American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; pg. 154. Rounder
Records CDROUN0529, Dwight Lamb – “Hell Agin the Barn Door: More Fiddle and
Accordion Tunes from the Great Plains” (2005. Learned from a radio broadcast of
fiddler Bob Walters). Bob Holt – “The Way I Heard It” (1997).

MISSOURI WALTZ. Old‑Time, Waltz. USA; Missouri, Pa., Arizona. F Major {Phillips}:
G Major ('A' part) & E Minor ('B' part) {Beisswenger & McCann,
Guntharp}. Standard tuning. AA' (Phillips): AA’BB (Beisswenger & McCann).
Composed in 1914, credited to John Valentine Eppel, arranged by Frederick
Knight. However, some believe that it was actually an earlier composition by
Jelly Settles. Minstrel-type lyrics were later added to it, and despite the
offensiveness of the dialect and content it was designated the official
Missouri state song in 1949. The tune was an "old standby" for
Arizona fiddler Kenner C. Kartchner (early 20th century). The tune was
occasionally played by Missourian Harry S. Truman while he was President on the
piano at the White House, and it had been a campaign song of his in 1944.
Despite this there are reports that Truman despised the tune. Drew Beisswenger
(2008) remarks that it is seldom heard at the more informal fiddlers’
gatherings, although played occasionally for more formal events. Early sound
recordings, according to Gus Meade, include those by harmonica player E.F.
“Poss” Acree (1924), (Clayton) McMichen’s Melody Men (1927) and the Ranch Boys
(1935). Source for notated version: Archie Miller (Lewisbury, Pa.) [Guntharp];
Blaine Sprouse [Phillips]. Beisswenger & McCann (Ozark Fiddle Music),
2008; pg. 159. Guntharp (Learning the
Fiddler’s Ways), 1980; pg. 78. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; pg. 283. Marimac 9054, The Ill-Mo Boys - "Fine as Frog
Hair" (1995).

MIST ON THE BOG.Irish, Polka. The tune is sometimes used as the first tune of a medley
for the ceili dance Seige of Ennis. Nigel Gatherer reports that Watt Nicol used
the tune for "The Fifie-O", his tribute to the Dundee/Tayport
ferries.

MIST ON THE LOCH. AKA and see “Merry Blacksmith,”
“Devils in Dublin ,” “Paddy on the Railroad.” Canadian,
Reel. Canada, Cape Breton. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. A version of the
Irish tune usually known as “The Merry Blacksmith.” This version is similar to
that recorded by Michael Coleman in 1921 as the second tune on the recording
“The Boys in the Lough.” Source for notated version: Winston Fitzgerald (1914-1987,
Cape Breton) [Cranford]. Cranford (Winston
Fitzgerald), 1997; No. 136, pg. 55. Breton Books
and Records BOC 1HO, Winston “Scotty” Fitzgerald - “Classic Cuts” (reissue of
Celtic Records CX 17). RC2000, George Wilson – “Royal Circus” (2,000).

MIST ON THE MOUNTAIN, THE. AKA and see “The Piper on Horseback.” Irish,
Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The melody appears in the publication Hidden Fermanagh, under the title
O’Connell’s Reel, from the playing of Eddy Duffy. The note with the melody says
it is one of the “more unusual William Carroll tunes,” referring to a flute
player from Derrygonnelly. Philippe Varlet says the tune was recorded by
Paulette Gershen on the original “Cherish the Ladies” album (prior to the
formation of the band of the same name), where it is listed as “Jig Away the
Donkey.” About the same time, says Philippe, the northern Irish duo Frankie
Kennedy and fiddler Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh were on tour in the United States
playing the tune as “The Piper on Horseback.” The title on “Cherish the Ladies”
is a mistakenly confused one as the “Jig Away” title is actually the name of
the second tune in a set paired with the “Piper/Mist” tune. Source for notated
version: Gus Collins (Bronx, NY) [Mulvihill]. Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 194, pg. 52.

MISTAKE [1], THE. AKA and see "The Daffeedowndilly." English, Jig.
G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The melody was first printed in David
Rutherford’s Compleat Collection of 200 of the Most Celebrated Country
Dances (London, 1756). Manuscript versions appear in the commonplace book
of Cheapside, London, musician Walter Rainstorp (begun 1747), and the
manuscript collection of Northumbrian musician William Vickers, started in
1770. Regarding the alternate title, there is an old nursery rhyme that goes:

***

Daffy Down Dilly has come to town,

In a yellow sunbonnet and a green
gown.

***

The lines are a metaphor for a
daffodil, which has yellow petals and a green stem. Seattle (William Vickers), 1987, Part 3; No. 575.

MISTWOLD. American, Reel. USA, New Hampshire. B Flat Major (Laufman): G Major
(Barnes). Standard tuning. AABB. A modern composition by caller Dudley Laufman
(Canterbury, New Hampshire) in honor of Mistwold Farm in Fremont, New
Hampshire, where he first country danced. "Jonathan Quimby was my first
fiddler and Mrs. Sheldon the pianist. We danced in the living room on the
orange wide-boarded floor. Everyone could tell when we had come straight from
the barn without bathing because of the heavy odor of talc" [Laufman].
David Newitt set an English country dance to the tune in 1993. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2),
2005; pg. 86. Laufman (Okay, Let's Try a
Contra, Men on the Right, Ladies on the Left, Up and Down the Hall), 1973;
pg. 37. F&W Records 5, Canterbury Country
Orchestra‑‑"Mistwold."

MISTY MOUNTAIN, THE. AKA and see “The Mist Covered Mountian [2].” AKA –
“Mist on the Mountain.” Irish, Jig. A Dorian. Standard tuning. AA’BB’. The tune
was composed by West Clare fiddler Junior Crehan
(1908-1998), adapted from the Scottish song “The Mist Covered Mountains of
Home” (Chi Mi na Morbheanna). Crehan was a member of the famed Laichtín Naofa
Céilí Band. “The Mist Covered Mountain” refers to Slieve Callen in Clare,
according to Caoimhin Mac Aoidh. Accordion player Charlie Piggott
learned the tune from Doolin, County Clare, tin-whistle and flute player Micho
Russell (1915-1994). Piggott infers the original Scottish melody was often
marched to in years past by pipe and brass-and-reed bands around west Clare (Blooming Meadows, 1998). The tune
continues to be associated with the playing of the late Junior Crehan, Miltown
Malbay, County Clare, who is frequently credited with adapting the Scottish air
"Chi mi na mor-bheanna" for
the jig. The title reminds one of concertina player and educator Gearóid
O hAllmhuráin's statement that: "In Ireland they say that if you can see
the mountain, then it's going to rain; if you can't see the mountain, it's
raining." Sources for
notated versions: Kevin Chaisson (b. 1950, Bear River, North-East Kings County,
Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]; New Jersey flute player Mike Rafferty, born in
Ballinakill, Co. Galway, in 1926 [Harker]. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland), 1974, vol. 3, No.
61. Harker (300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty),
2005; No. 175. Perlman (The Fiddle Music
of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 143. Green
Linnet GLCD 1127, “Martin Hayes” (1993). Patty Furlong –“Traditional Irish
Music on Button Accordion” (1999. Appears as “Mist Covered Mountain”).

MITCHELL CLOG. Old-Time, Breakdown.
The name of a tune learned by RandolphCounty, W. Va.,
fiddler Woody Simmons (b. 1911) from a local mentor Wren McGee. “He was, along about
them days, a champion fiddler. He lived on McGee Run and played the fiddle” (Mountains of Music, John Lilly ed.,
1999, pg. 15).

MITFORD POLKA. English, Polka. England,
Northumberland. C Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by musician, teacher,
composer, dancing master and fiddler Robert Whinham (1814-1893), originally
from Morpeth. Dixon locates the village
of Mitford to the west of Morpeth,
at the confluence of the River Font and River Wansbeck. Source for notated
version: the music manuscript of Thomas Matheson, dated 1859 [Dixon].
Dixon (Remember Me), 1995; pg. 42.

MITTON'S BREAKDOWN. AKA – “Earl Mitton’s Breakdown.” Canadian, Reel. B Flat Major. Standard
tuning. AABB (Hebert): AA’BBCC (Fiddler Magazine). Composed by Earl
Mitton (1926-1991), born in Moncton, New Brunswick, although childhood years
were spent in Stewiacke, Nova Scotia. After service in
World War II, Mitton settled in Fredrickton, New Brunswick. He learned to
fiddle as a child, and in the 1960’s played with his hoedown band (The Valley
Rhythm Boys) on radio and television out of Saint John,
New Brunswick. Mitton also played saxophone
and clarinet and had another dance band that played modern dance music. He
appeared on the Don Messer television show and recorded for several Canadian
labels, and was a summer replacement for Messer on Canadian T.V. “Mitton’s
Breakdown” is a rather difficult flat-key tune (it has been nicknamed “Bastard
in B Flat”) with a shuffle (‘triple shuffle’) that has some currency, including
in the playing of Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham. The third part is Mitton’s
variation of the shuffle part, played an octave lower. Source for notated
version: Jerry Robichaud (Canada)
[Hinds]. Fiddler Magazine, vol. 11, No. 3, Fall 2004; pg. 55.
Hinds/Hebert (Grumbling Old Woman),
1981; pg. 15. Messer, 1950 ‑ "Don Messer's Favorite Melodies"
(Canadian Music Sales, O/P). Condor 977‑1489,
"Graham & Eleanor Townsend Live at Barre,
Vermont." Foot Stompin Records, Liz
Doherty – “Last Orders” (2004). Mariposa 1364M, Rudy Meeks ‑
"Fiddles of Shelburne." Morris Music, “The Best of Earl Mitton.”